Brit Eyed Soul

Release date: 2017-03-03

Label: Cleopatra Records

1964 was an amazing year for popular music as the Beatles landed on these shores performing their first of three appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9. An onslaught of British rock bands
and solo performers soon made their way to America and ruled the charts in both their homeland and the U.S. for all of 1964 and onward into the future.

Drawing from the R&B tradition that so enamored them to America’s black and soul music of the time, everyone from the Beatles to the Rolling Stones, Moody Blues, the Animals, the Who and too many others put a British accent on American R&B and sold it back to the States. For many of young white America, they might know that the Beatles “Twist and Shout” was originally recorded by the Isley Brothers,but might have also been surprised to learn that the Moody Blues “Go Now” was actually a minor R&B hit for Bessie Banks earlier in 1964.

Once the floodgates of this musical love affair were opened, it seemed to never stop. Every British act who came to New York City would make a bee line to the Harlem’s Apollo Theatre to see their idols up close in a more natural environment. And many got to know these musical mentors and watched their stage show so closely
that they would incorporate what they saw in the States and put their own spin on it, and make it part of their own act. Just ask Mick Jagger what seeing Tina Turner or James Brown for the first time did for his sense of stage movement and dynamics.

And it didn’t take long for American R&B stars to see what their British co-horts were doing and turnaround was fair play. Soon Otis Redding was performing and recording The Stones’ “Satisfaction, Ray Charles put a soulful spin on the Beatles “Eleanor Rigby,” and even the Supremes did an album called “A Bit of Liverpool.”

But this musical give and take didn’t stop in the ’60’s… it kept on going to this very day. Ask almost any British singer from the last fifty years and they will cite an American R&B artist who directly influenced them. Boy George has more then a bit of Smokey in him and Rod Stewart continues to cite Sam Cooke as his greatest vocal mentor.

So now fifty years after the birth of the British Invasion, a current American veteran R&B/soul singer named Billy Valentine has come forth with a CD that celebrates this cross fertilization.

But who the hell is Billy Valentine anyway and why should you care? Quite simply, if you’re a fan of 80’s R&B you might know him as part of the Valentine Brothers. And just who are they again? In keeping with this musical back and forth between the U.S. and the U.K., in 1982 they recorded a Top 40 R&B hit called “Money’s Too Tight (To Mention).” It charted and because it was on a small indie label got some attention, but didn’t reach a broad audience until Simply Red covered it in 1986 and made it a Top 40 Pop hit in the U.S. and Europe.

Billy went on to write and produce for various artists including Jesse Johnson and Vesta Williams and also was the lead singing voice for Robert Townsend’s highly acclaimed film about the rise and fall of a
Temptations modeled R&B act called “The Five Heartbeats.” After a fallow period of doing musical odd jobs around L.A., he later emerged as the vocal pulse of the TV series “Boston Legal.” Singing everything from the opening title theme to various interludes during the show where he became an integral part of this legal dramedy which kept him busy during it’s five season run.

Valentine more recently has been contributing his soulful vocals to the hit show “The Sons of Anarchy,” singing everything from an early Creedence Clearwater Revival song to Otis Redding’s “Dock of the Bay.” As a matter of fact, his version of Creedence’s “Someday never Comes” has gathered over 250,000 YouTube views in the last six months. He also performs regularly in California and has been featured at many winery shows in Napa Valley as well as club gigs in the Los Angeles area.

But with a voice this soulful, it’s time for Billy to become a face connected to a name. Over two years have been spent on this project; from finding and enlisting producer/arranger TC Campbell (former member of Cameo, as well as bandleader for Peabo Bryson and Jeffrey Osborne) to going through over one hundred and twenty possible songs to choose the twelve contained on this CD. “I need to
feel a song in order to interpret it properly,” says Billy, “and though it became a rather long process to find the right material that resonated with me, here’s hoping they resonate with you as well.

I remember everyone from Otis to Al Green interpreting British soul, and I’m just glad I was able to put my spin on it.” There are different selections from a wide range of British soul flavored artists, but they all share a common link… a soulful melody and lyric that Billy has been able to re-interpret thanks to TC Campbell’s ability to add a new spin to already familiar arrangements.

So kick back and enjoy as this modern master of soul puts his spin on songs that you might have heard countless times, but never quite like this!

TRACK LISTING:

“Beast Of Burden” – The Rolling Stones
(Jagger/Richards)
Published by EMI Music Ltd.
Originally Produced by Jagger/Richards

Originally released on the Album “Some Girls in 1978 | Released as a single and Billboard Peak Position #8 September, 23, 1978. Follow up to their #1 Single “Miss You” from the Some Girls album. This track, also garnered major FM play as well as Top 40 chart action.

“Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” – Culture Club
(G. O’Dowd/J. Moss/R. Hay/M. Craig)
Published by Virgin/EMI Music Ltd. ASCAP
Originally Produced by Steve Levine

Originally Released on their debut album Kissing To Be Clever in 1983 Released as a single and Billboard Peak Position #2 January 15, 1983 | Culture Club won the Best New Artist Grammy in 1983. Led by the flamboyant Boy George, this was the first of a string of six consecutive Top Ten Singles.

“How Long” – Ace
(Paul Carrack)
Published by Minder Music Ltd. ASCAP
Originally Produced by John Anthony

Highest Chart Position # 3 in April 1975 on Billboard’s Pop Chart. Paul Carrack started his career as the lead singer and main songwriter for Ace, and later worked with a number of high profile British bands including Squeeze, Roxy Music, and Mike and the Mechanics as well as recording as a solo artist.

“More Than A Woman” – The Bee Gees/Tavares
(B., R. & M. Gibb)
Published by Stigwood Music Inc./Unichappell BM
Originally Produced by the Bee Gees, Karl Richardson and Albhy Galuten

On the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack Released in 1977. Incredibly, this song was never released as a single and never officially charted, but garnered immense airplay as part of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The Bee Gees had a four decade career with a constant flow of huge hits. It’s unbelievable that this song was never released as a single as it seemed to be the most dominant song from the film, but it was beaten out for that honor by three Number Ones in a row; “How Deep Is Your Love,” “Stayin’ Alive,” and “Night Fever.” The R&B act Tavares DID release
it as a single and it reached # 36 on the R&B charts and #32 on the Pop charts at Billboard.

“Holding Back the Years” – Simply Red
(Hucknall/Moss)
Published by EMI April Music Inc. ASCAP
Originally Produced by Stewart Levine
Originally released on their debut album “Picture Book” in 1986.
Released as a single and hit #1 on Billboard’s Pop Chart in May, 1986 | This song holds a special meaning for Billy as Simply Red also recorded the Valentine Brothers R&B hit “Money’s Too Tight To Mention” on the same album, and later released it as a single where it peaked at #28 on Billboard’s Pop chart, but was a huge hit internationally.

“Watching the Wheels” – John Lennon
(Lennon)
Published by Lenono Music/BMG Music Publishing Ltd.
Originally Produced by Lennon/Ono/Douglas

Originally released on the Double Fantasy LP in 1980 | Released as a single and Billboard Peak Position #10 in April 1981 | This album was released just around the time of John Lennon’s murder and spawned a number of hit singles as well as winning Album of the Year in 1981. It was written as an answer to all the people who criticized John for retiring from music after his son Sean was born when he retreated from the business to raise his young boy.

“Here, There and Everywhere” – The Beatles
(Lennon/McCarney)
Published by Sony Music
Originally Produced by George Martin

Originally released on the Revolver LP in 1966. Never released as a single. This track was from one of the most critically acclaimed Beatles album, and though never released as a single, it became a favorite of Beatles fans and received very strong airplay as an album cut.

“First Cut Is the Deepest” – P.P. Arnold/Cat Stevens
(Cat Stevens)
Published by Duchess Music Corp. BMI
Originally Produced by Mike Hurst

Never Released as a single by Cat Stevens, but Rod Stewart had a single that reached #21 on the Billboard Pop Chart in 1977. Though never a hit in the U.S., this was Cat Stevens first song to get any notoriety. It was originally recorded by a former Ikette named P.P. Arnold, who was persuaded by Mick Jagger to stay on in London after an Ike and Tina Turner tour of the U.K. Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham cut it on her and it became a fairly major chart record in the U.K. in 1967. Cat Stevens then cut it on his debut LP in 1968,, but it didn’t receive any chart play globally until Rod Stewart had a pretty big international hit with it in 1977. Other artists who have cut the song since include Sheryl Crow and U.K. artists James Morrison.

“Train In Vain (Stand By Me)” – The Clash
(Strummer/Jones)
Published by EMI Virgin Music Ltd. ASCAP
Originally Produced by Guy Stevens

Originally released on London Calling in 1980 | Released as a single in the U.S. and reached #23 on Billboard’s Pop Chart The Clash were one of the top groups to come out of the UK Punk movement along with the Sex Pistols, Elvis Costello and Billy Idol. The other artist who recorded it was Annie Lennox for her “Medusa” CD released in 1995. Her version was never released as a single, but got a lot of FM airplay in the US. It has also been covered by a diverse group of artists from a country version by Dwight Yoakum to a dance pop version by EMF to a blues rock version by the Black Crowes. It was called “Train In Vain (Stand By Me)” to differentiate from Ben E. King’s hit of the same name, even though the words train in vain are found nowhere in the song.

“I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” – Elton John
(John/Johnstone/Taupin)
Published by Happenstance Ltd. /Rouge Booze Inc./ Big Pig Music Ltd.
Administered by Warner Chappelle Music
Originally Produced by Chris Thomas

Originally released on the Too Low for Zero LP in 1983. Peak Position #4 on the Billboard Pop Charts in November 1983. Stevie Wonder plays the harmonica solo on the original of this song which was a big song for Elton on both the radio and his live shows.

“(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” – Elvis Costello
(Nick Lowe)
Published by Plangent Visions Music Ltd.
Originally Produced by Nick Lowe

Originally released on the Armed Forces LP in 1979. Never released as a single. Featured in the soundtrack to the Whitney Houston/ Kevin Costner vehicle The Bodyguard, which sold over eleven
million CD’s, this song has become sort of a new generation peace anthem for 30 and 40 somethings. It was an FM radio staple and is always a part of Elvis Costello’s live shows.

About Billy

Multitalented vocalist Billy Valentine’s varied career has taken him across the United States, throughout the many countries of Europe and even to Oman, a small country in the Middle East. Lately, he’s been frequenting local Los Angeles clubs, such as Vibrato in Bel Air, Café Cordiale in Sherman Oaks, and both The Vic and The Casa Del Mar Hotel in Santa Monica.